No Regrets (A Stepbrother New Adult Novella) (6 page)

P
arker was in trouble
. He watched her last night at dinner, and he was struck by the light she emanated. There was a glow that followed her, something most people would miss if they didn’t take the time to
really
look at her. Lately, looking at her had become something he did often. He dreamed about her.

As he stood in the church before the ceremony began, he thought about how she had fallen asleep at her mother’s home. She really shouldn’t be alone out there, in that abandoned house. He would have to talk to her about that.

He glanced over at his father. He hadn’t looked this happy in a long time, and Parker smiled, overjoyed to be here on such a great day. Parker felt different now, as if he had grown up a lot in the last few months. He made time to work, and he tried to get his father to consider an expansion of the business. He knew in his gut it was the right thing to do.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Amelia as she smiled in his direction. He was surprised she was there. Her father was a good friend of his Dad’s, so he knew the family was invited. But after he stood her up, he was surprised she would still smile at him. If anything at all, Amelia was his equal in her ability to get what she wanted. He thought about that night again, and remembered how angry Olivia had been.

Just then, Olivia came through the door. There were very few times in his life that he could recall being speechless, but this was one of them. She was perfection, from head to toe, her dress sparkling as much as she did. The white flowers in her hair were a delicate touch, just the right counterpoint to her dark hair. As she came closer, he felt it again—that unmistakable feeling reserved only for Olivia, and his heart pounded in his throat. The symbolism wasn’t lost on him. She walked down the aisle toward him, and it felt right.

He blinked a few times to clear his head. He had to walk her down to the front of the church, and despite how beautiful she was, she looked slightly terrified. He took her arm and the scent he now associated with her—lilac—hit his nose and gave him butterflies. He controlled his response and gave her a reassuring squeeze as they took the last few steps to the altar.

The ceremony was over fairly quickly. As the people slowly scattered away from the church, Parker thought of how his father and Liv’s mother gushed over each other when they were exchanging vows. He contemplated the idea of marriage for a moment. Being with one person for the rest of his life seemed a bit extreme to him, but even as he thought of it, he was scanning the hall for Olivia. He was surprised to see that she had disappeared already.

The reception following the ceremony was simple and elegant. Food had been set out for the guests buffet style, at the insistence of Liv’s Mom—she still liked things to be simple. But Richard in turn had insisted that everything was on the menu: from oysters, to duck, to an elaborate carving station. The cake was a sugary tower, catering to the sweet tooth in everyone.

As people were seated, Parker took his place at the head of the main table to make the toast to the new couple. The opposite of Olivia, he enjoyed the spotlight.

“I just want to toast to my father and Linda. My dad instilled in me a strong work ethic, and dedicated his life to raising me. He rarely took time for himself and never missed any of my events when I was a kid. He was there for me, and today I’m proud to be here for him. Cheers!”

There were claps and the clinking of glasses, and then everyone started on their food. As he sat back, his eyes found Olivia once more. Only this time, he felt something entirely different. She was on the other side of the head table while she laughed and smiled with some other guy. Drew, was that his name? He was obviously some jock, and he had a possessive hand on the back of Olivia’s chair that made Parker want to throw him into a wall. He recognized his feelings for what they were—jealousy. He’d never experienced it before, and it stung more than he wanted to admit.

He shouldn’t care—actually he had promised he would stay away from her.
But, who the hell was this guy?
Parker downed his champagne quickly and enjoyed the burn. He hoped that he could simply stop himself from looking at her. Sadly, that wasn’t the case.

“Parker, have you met Drew? Drew, this is Parker.” Olivia introduced them, and the jock held his hand out to Parker.

“Nice to meet you, Drew,” Parker replied in a clipped tone, shaking the other man’s hand a little harder than necessary.

“So, you’re in college, too, Parker?” The guy Drew asked pleasantly, and Parker forced himself to answer pleasantly as well, when all he really wanted to do was punch the guy in the face. All the while, Parker was aware of Liv standing beside them silently, the heat from her body hitting his synapses like burning ashes flying through the air. Somehow, he managed to get through the chitchat with Drew without killing him.
If I see him touch her again…

“Cool, cool. Well, it was nice to meet you, man.” Drew shook Parker’s hand again. “Liv, can I talk to you for a few?” Drew asked her. They smiled as they left together out a side patio door.

Parker felt the overwhelming urge to go outside and follow them. He didn’t trust this Drew.
Who are you kidding? You don’t trust anyone with Liv. You don’t even trust yourself
. He told himself it was none of his business, tried to enjoy his cake, and was careful to keep an eye on the door through which she’d left.

S
he thought
about Parker and his behavior earlier with Drew. What was wrong with him? He was rude, and that was nothing like the Parker she knew. Perhaps that was the key factor—she didn’t know him that well.

Or, maybe he was jealous—no, he can’t be.
All she knew was that he drove her crazy and made her angry at the same time. She had to find a way to put him out of her mind.

Her mother had all but made her promise to stay away from him. She would be lying if she pretended that she didn’t have feelings for Parker. She’d had months to forget about him, yet one night around him and she’d forgotten everything she’d convinced herself was for the best. She’d just been lying to herself for the last four months. Now she knew the truth—he had some kind of hold over her. Not a day went by that she didn’t think about him in one way or another. She almost felt free now that she had finally admitted to herself that her feelings for Parker were real, and not going away.

The evening had started to wrap up, and she and Parker watched their parents get into the limo for their trip to Paris. The excitement was contagious, and she watched until the car was gone. She felt Parker behind her, as if she had some built-in sense of when he was around.

“That was some wedding, wouldn’t you agree?”

She sighed. “Yes, it was beautiful. They were so happy,” she whispered.

Another moment went by, and she blinked rapidly to clear her thoughts before she glanced up at him. He had lost the tie now, as well as the vest. In his white shirt he was still gorgeous to look at.

“Well, I guess I need to get going, myself. It’s a good forty-five minutes to the house,” she said, not really wanting to leave him.

“Wait, are you going back to your mother’s house tonight?” He frowned.

“Yes, I’m not sure how much time I have left in that house and I want to enjoy it.” She felt the tension between them and wondered what was coming.

He ran a hand through his hair. “Is that really a good idea, Olivia? I mean, first of all, you shouldn’t be out so late by yourself. And how well do you even know this guy? Is he going with you?”

So, he was concerned about Drew? She decided to run with it.

“For your information, I grew up in that house, Parker. I’ve come home late quite a few times, and guess what? Each time I survived it,” she said. “Someday, some other family is going to raise kids there, and it will be lost to me forever. Do you know how that feels?” She sighed, getting angry as she thought about Amelia again. “No, I didn’t think so. I’ll be
fine
. As far as Drew is concerned, that’s really none of your business, is it? If you’re so worried over that, why not go find that skinny blonde who always seems to be looking for you? I’m sure she’d be
happy
to take care of your concerns.” She stomped off in a huff, leaving him to stare after her.

He had a lot of nerve.
Why did he care what she did, or who she did it with, for that matter?
She grabbed a bottle of champagne left from the reception, and tucked it under her arm to take back to the house. The man was
insufferable
, always doing his best to get under her skin. It was as if he enjoyed it. She drove to the house, still fuming. He’d had her lying there, practically
naked
, and he’d left her for that blonde. And now, he was going to act jealous?

S
he had started
to calm down by the time she stepped out of the shower. The long day was wearing on her, and she needed to relax. She wrapped herself in a long robe and twisted her hair up on her head as she descended way downstairs.

She poured herself a glass of champagne and tried to focus on how happy her mother had been. It was good that her mom would be taken care of. For so long, it had been a driving force for Olivia—to take care of her mother. Now, she only needed to worry about herself, and it was a strange thing to realize—a lonely thing.
Don’t think about Parker.

She had just settled into a fluffy chair when she heard a knock on the door. With a frown, she opened it.

“Hello, Olivia.” Parker was all business as he said it. He looked around the room behind her.

“What do you want, Parker? I’m busy.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
Stay strong. Think about Amelia, and how you felt that morning.

“I came to make sure you were okay, Olivia.” He moved closer to her and she stepped back into the house, allowing him inside.

She knew she had lost the game.

“I’m fine Parker, just like I said.” She turned around and walked into the den, settling into the overstuffed chair and taking a sip of her champagne.

He raised an eyebrow at her. “Where’s your friend, Olivia?” Suddenly, she was tired of playing anymore.
Just tell him and get it over with—you can cry later.

“He went back—he had a test in the morning. Besides, it’s not even like that with Drew, Parker. He’s my friend.” She took another sip and watched him relax as he sat down in the chair across from her.

“You could have told me that. And no matter what you may think, he wants to be more than your friend, Olivia.” He stared at her glass. “You might want to take it easy on the bubbly, sweetheart. We both know you don’t hold your alcohol very well.”

She flushed at this blatant reminder of their night together in the pool house. The heat rushed into her face as she stood with both arms at her sides.

“You are the rudest, most arrogant person I have ever met. I’d hoped we could put that entire disastrous night behind us.” She started to pace the room.

“Whoa, wait a second. How am
I
being rude? I’m not the one who ran off the next morning because she was afraid of what she felt! I came back and you were gone, Olivia! Gone! I tried to get in touch with you, and nothing! How’s
that
for rude?” He walked toward her with every word.

“What are you talking about, Parker?” she yelled. “I left because that blonde bimbo of yours showed up, and told me all about your rendezvous after you were done with me! She wanted me to pass on a message. I was humiliated, Parker! You don’t know how that feels when someone tosses you away for a better offer, but I do!” She choked on her words and spun around to face away from him. She was unable to stop the tears that spilled down her face, but she wouldn’t let him see them.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Olivia! What—” He stopped suddenly. She heard him swear under his breath. “Olivia, it’s not what you think.” His tone had changed. It was much softer, and his hands were gentle as he lightly grasped her arms.

“I don’t think
anything
, Parker. I don’t think anything at all.” She sniffed lightly, refusing to allow him to turn her around. She tried so hard not to give in, afraid he would crush her if he didn’t feel the same.

“Well, like it or not, you’re going to listen to me, Olivia. That night…that night was…well, it was hard to not make love to you, to not touch you more than I did. But I didn’t want you to regret it in the morning. So, I stayed the night there beside you. I never went anywhere,” he said, and she finally turned around and met his eyes. His were unwavering, and her heart started to thump loudly with hope. “Let me explain—Amelia, we…well, we used to get together from time to time, and earlier that night she’d invited me to come see her. When I didn’t show up, I guess she found where I’d been, and telling you those things was her way of getting back at me.” He moved closer to Liv. “I know how she thinks, because I think the same way…or, at least I used to.” He smiled gently at Liv, his feelings clear in his eyes. “I stayed with you the whole night, Olivia. The next morning, I went to get you coffee, and then you were gone.”

He cupped her face and saw her tears. “Oh, Olivia. Please don’t do that, I can’t watch you cry like this.” He wiped her tears with his thumbs.

“What did you mean, you didn’t want me to regret it?”
Oh God, I’ve been so blind
.

“You were drunk. I didn’t want to do it with you when you were drunk.”

“Why? Wouldn’t it have been easier for you that way?” She bit her lip lightly, and he groaned. Hope filled her chest like a living thing, ready to burst out of her skin and claim him as hers.

“Because, Olivia, when I make love to you I want you to be aware of everything I do to you. I don’t want there to be any doubt that you want me, just as much as I want you. Every little moan and whimper you make will be because of what I’m doing to you.”

She swallowed hard at his words. Seconds felt like minutes as they stared at each other, until finally, he swore and crushed his mouth to hers. It was like fire coursing through her veins as he kissed her, nipping and tasting her mouth. He quickly unpinned her hair, letting it tumble around her shoulders. Her need for his touch was equal to his own. Neither of them thought about promises they were breaking; they just wanted each other. He trailed kisses down the column of her throat, and she sighed with each one.

Soon, she felt his hands traveling over her body. Quickly and deftly, he untied her robe, letting it fall to the ground at her feet. She watched him as he shed his clothes. His mouth found hers once more as they moved to the couch. He was hard everywhere, and her hands traveled his body, reveling at each muscle. He pulled away to look down at her.

“Olivia, you’re so beautiful.” He let his fingers outline her curves, gently tracing over each nipple, and they hardened in response to his touch. He followed his caresses with his mouth, and she felt a deep ache build inside her.

“Parker,” she whispered.

He moved first one finger, then two, into the heated entrance of her womanhood. She knew she was wet and hot, and as he gently teased her clit, her hips arched against his hand.

“Tell me, Olivia. I need you to tell me you want me, too,” he whispered, his voice deep.

She would have begged him in that moment. She whimpered loudly.

“Say it, Olivia,” he demanded.

“
I want you, Parker
.”

Before she finished the sentence he moved between her thighs. Soon, he was at her entrance, and the hard length of him filled her slowly and gently, until she was completely filled with him.

“
Olivia
,” he gritted out her name as he moved within her, gently at first, and then deeper still.

She wrapped her legs around him as they found a rhythm—both moving, both searching. He pinned her hands above her head as he leaned down to kiss her, thrusting harder and harder. They continued to kiss as the tremor rose higher and higher, until her climax shuddered through her body with a long, keening moan that he swallowed. Hearing her pleasure was his undoing, and he pushed into her one last time before finding his own release. He whispered her name into her hair with each pulse of his body inside of hers.

He rolled off her and pulled her with him as her head rested on his chest. Neither of them wanted to speak—to break the beauty of what had just occurred between them. Even in the afterglow of their lovemaking, they were both aware they would have to discuss it sooner, rather than later.